Breastfeeding

Oh lord - my boobs were out all over the place when I was feeding my three. If people did not like it they could look the other way as far as I was concerned.

I was as discrete as possible and did not flap them around; but neither did I feel obliged to hide myself away. My parents and in-laws did a double-take at first then just got used to it.

I have this memory of being in a toilet cubicle in a rather revolting public toilet and hearing a very strange noise coming from the next cubicle. I eventually worked out that it was a mother breast-feeding - what a disgrace that she felt she had to be in this foul environment to keep the prude brigade happy. Thank goodness we have moved on from that.........we have, haven't we?

Better a breastfed baby than a wailing, unhappy baby! It hurts absolutely no one for a mother to bf her child in public. I fed mine from the 70’s onward and never received a negative comment. An elderly lady once said it was lovely to see a mum nursing her baby, though.

I breastfed all 5 of mine, in the 60s and early 70s. I was needing to feed my 2nd baby, and my in-laws were visiting, so I got up to go into the other room. MIL asked where I was going, I said to feed the baby. She said "You don`t need to go anywhere, Pops has seen titties before, haven`t you Pops?" I was the shy type, and was really embarrassed.

Interestingly, I was with a breast feeder this morning at a coffee outing. Honestly she was so discreet that I hardly even noticed. I rather think that garments nowadays have been made more able to accommodate this. Maybe wrong but that's how it seems to me.

When I was breastfeeding mine in the 70's my mil always told me to go into the parlour like a pariah her excuse my BIL was too young to see such things.
Unfortunately just after I had another baby my dear FIL died and I was in a group with a wailing baby so I feed it under a voluminous blouse I was wearing. There were a few gurgles and burps and all over. My BIL said," Is that it I never saw a thing".He could not understand what all the fuss was about.
All was revealed a few months later their grandmother was still alive and she did a Les Dawson mime circling her boobs and said our MIL could not feed her she has inverted Nibbles. The house was in complete uproar. Both at my MIL discomfort and the word used.
Women should be able to feed their babies when and where they want to my SIL certainly did.

I remember having to go to the toilets to feed in the early 70s as some people were very prudish. A woman said to me that it was disgraceful that I was made to feel that way. After that I breast fed wherever I was and tough if anyone didn't like it.

What do people find objectionable about a mother feeding a baby? All the mothers I know who did it weren’t exactly flaunting their naked bodies all over the place!

I have breastfed in restaurants, wine bars, tea shops, friends houses in fact everywhere whenever baby was hungry.

Never flashed any flesh, always had a large pashmina with me, light enough to be comfortable and not too hot for baby.

My DD is breast feeding her 12 week old. She feeds wherever she is whenever he needs it. She is discreet , keeping herself covered but will not put the baby under a blanket or cover.
She has not had any adverse. comments made to her. I suspect she would have something to say to anyone who did.

Luckygirl

Oh lord - my boobs were out all over the place when I was feeding my three. If people did not like it they could look the other way as far as I was concerned.

I was as discrete as possible and did not flap them around; but neither did I feel obliged to hide myself away. My parents and in-laws did a double-take at first then just got used to it.

I have this memory of being in a toilet cubicle in a rather revolting public toilet and hearing a very strange noise coming from the next cubicle. I eventually worked out that it was a mother breast-feeding - what a disgrace that she felt she had to be in this foul environment to keep the prude brigade happy. Thank goodness we have moved on from that.........we have, haven't we?

Hear hear!

I BF both of mine wherever I was, inc. once in a church, but discreetly. Dd feeds hers wherever she is and is not too bothered about discretion - if anyone’s prudish enough to object, tough. I think it’s only ever happened once though - some prissy elderly woman - and her 3rd is 19 months now, and still BF, though more for comfort than sustenance.

I was a bit shy at feeding in public initially but then in the end didn’t care! I was gifted some fab tops for feeding which meant I didn’t need to get my big boobs out, but I also used to wear tops over a vest - top up, vest down. My parents’ friend did once get an eyeful when my nosy daughter came off the boob when he was talking to me - he didn’t even notice I was feeding her until that point and said he’d assumed I bottlefed her! That’s because he’d seen her with my parents and she’d had expressed milk in a bottle. After a very rocky start we got to two years nine months, so did OK.

There is legislation in place to enable mums to feed in public places - but you still get people who object, sadly.

I breast fed all our 4 but it was expected that I might want to go into another room when at the in-laws. Too right, FiL smoked cigars and others smoked back in those days. Also DS2 was always so curious, he couldn't feed and stare at everyone at the same time and used to break off.
There's a breast feeding cafe near us meeting one morning a week. Supporting new mums since 2014; how lovely and welcoming.
I can remember sitting in the powder room at a department store ladies - that's what they were for I decided- and feeding the screaming bairn.

I breast fed my two but I was embarrassed in public so went to baby changing rooms. There wasn't many in the eighties my daughter does the same. She is very fortunate in Lancashire there are cafes especially for breast feeding mums.

I sat in the car once chatting to the AA man who had come to help us after we broke down. He was leaning in the window discussing what was happening, I do not think he realised that the baby nuzzling into my loose ethnic top (very fashionable at the time) was actually feeding at my breast!

Our mum breastfed us kids, in front of us, using a blanket as a cover. Apparently when our second brother was born, our oldest brother (who was 2) asked Mum rather nervously, "Is he eating you up?" Mum reassured him that wasn't possible. My sister and I are the oldest children and saw our mum breastfeed all the younger ones. We used to "nurse" our baby dolls!

We live in a strange world where breasts are acceptable on display in the gutter press but not for feeding babies. Back in the day, my husband threw an irate bloke out of his restaurant when the guy complained about a woman breastfeeding her baby. I love him for many things but that was awesome!
The link is a brilliant piece by the poet and activist Hollie
McNish
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiS8q_fifa0

I love him a bit too for that Grannylaine, hope you dont mind.

Galaxy
He deserves any love that comes his way...

Well done to GrannyLaine’s OH!

And I do so love Hollie McNish!

Bravo your husband sounds a gem!

My DS guzzled and slurped and could never have been fed discreetly.
I certainly never tried it in public.

I travelled a lot with my children and fed them discreetly. On many occasions I am sure people I was talking to were completely unaware.

I bottle fed my sons as in the early ‘70s as breast feeding was actively discouraged. I wanted to but the midwives said it was much easier to bottle feed as you knew exactly how much baby was taking. Also every four hours, no feeding on demand. So I never had that problem, but I remember relatives when I was a child myself, they would retire to the bedroom when they had to breast feed, never mind feeding in public. Luckily things have changed but I still regret listening to those ‘who knew better’ and missing such an opportunity.